Town Day Social Media Tips

Stoneham Town Day 2019 is less than two weeks away. Exhibitors include local businesses, nonprofit organizations, and civic groups for a day of coming together on the Common as a show of community spirit.

For businesses, Town Day provides a unique opportunity to connect face to face with customers and potential customers in a relaxed, fun environment. It is also a unique opportunity to grow your social media following in completely organic ways. Since most businesses do not have a product or service to directly sell at Town Day, gaining social media followers is a way to keep in touch with the people you meet at your booth for future sales opportunities.

Giveaways

Giveaways are a big part of Town Day. Most booths have promotional trinkets in the forms of keychains, water bottles, flash drives, stress balls, pens, bags, tshirts, etc. What are you giving away? Promote your participation in Town Day on the front end by posting photos and videos on your Facebook and Instagram pages showing off what people can get if they stop by your booth. Make sure to Share your post with the appropriate community groups so that you are reaching beyond your current following. It is also a good idea to send your content to the Stoneham Chamber to see if they will Share it to their social media.

Stoneham TV cablecasts Town Day live on their community access channels and online streaming. If you visit their outdoor studio in front of Town Hall, they will show your giveaways during the live segments, giving you even more exposure.

You also want to make sure to visit other Town Day exhibitors, and trade giveaways with them. This will give you good ideas for next year and might lead to collaborations with other local businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Contests (User-Generated Content)

A social media contest is when you offer a prize to social media users who submit content for you. Challenge Town Day visitors to upload content to your Facebook Page or tag your company in their Instagram feed for the chance to win a prize.

High value prizes tend to have the highest ROI. Popular prizes include $100 gift cards to a local restaurant or grocery store, tickets to Boston sports events or entertainment venues, high end gift baskets, and lottery scratch tickets.

Make sure to clearly specify the rules of your contest, how the winner will be chosen, and what the restrictions are. Also, check the rules that each social media platform has dictated about running contests, and state them as part of your rules.

Since photos and videos are the most engaging types of content, photo and video contests are more effective than simply asking people to Like your Page or Follow your Feed. A fun way to run an Instagram contest is to have a mock Instagram post printed and have people tag you on the platform with a picture of them “inside” the printed post.

Photo courtesy amazon.co.uk

If you would like to get an Instagram poster printed, the folks at Boyd’s Direct should be able to get one done for you by Town Day as long as you place the order by Friday, September 6. www.boydsdirect.com

Whatever your contest, make sure you promote it to your email lists and on your social media platforms in advance to Town Day to increase participation. If your prize is exciting enough, people might come to Town Day just to seek out your booth!

For more Facebook and Instagram contest ideas, email me at dennis.ohara@yahoo.com.

Tell Your Story

Stories have become the popular new way to post content on Instagram and Facebook. Engagement with Stories has increased as more people and businesses use this format on the platforms.

Town Day provides several opportunities to post Stories. Take photos and videos of you and your staff preparing your Town Day exhibits during the week, document the set up and staffing of your booth, and post updates throughout the day. Posting before Town Day gives your fans the chance to plan to visit your booth, and posting the day of the event lets people who cannot attend share in the excitement and fun.

You can also visit other businesses’ booths and add those interactions to your Stories. Building online good will with fellow business owners can lead to future collaborations and exposure.

Follow Up

However you engage your social media followers for Town Day, it is important to keep in touch with them and invite them to engage with your brand after the event is over. You can offer a discount to everyone who posts a picture of your Town Day activities on their social media channels. You can invite them to visit your store or office to learn more about your company. You can announce when your team will be at another public event. There are many different ways to engage your followers after an event. The most important thing to consider is that follow-up should happen in a timely manner, no more than a week after Town Day, sooner if possible.

Remember, the best way to attract and retain a loyal social media following is to have active platforms and provide beneficial and entertaining content on an ongoing basis. If you are interested in more tips on how to make your social media shine, get in touch with me at (781) 572-8467 or via email at dennis.ohara@yahoo.com.

See you at Town Day!